Cryin' on Mommie's Tennis Night

On Monday evenings, Anne, Angie and Eryn take their tennis lesson at Oakbourne. That gives Avery and Riggs some good Daddy (only) time. Tim enjoys this alone time as much as the babies do! However, around 7:30 when I arrived last night, the babies were engaged in a competition of sorts . . . I don't know how Avery was able to convince Riggs to participate but, with real tears welling in their eyes, Avery and Riggs were crying at the top of their lungs! Quickly, I was reminded of these videos:






Avery has always been the, how shall I put this, more vocal of the twins! But, both seem to be well practiced in the art of crying . . . really loud crying as they have been recorded time and time again! However, last night Riggs was solid in the competition giving Avery a real challenge to best his wailing! The decibel level was probably somwhere between 95 and 125 dB . . . easily between the level at which one experiences hearing loss and the level at which pain begins!!

As soon as I sat down next to Riggs as he rested in his boppy, he quietened down. I stuck the baumbie in his mouth and VOILA! there was only one baby screaming! I walked over to Avery as she screamed from the "lamb," placed her baumbie in her mouth and again, VOILA! there was no baby screaming . . . that is, until I was walking back to Riggs! He started crying again and so, there were three repeats of the aforementioned efforts . . . then, Daddy emerged from the kitchen with two 7 oz baumbies! Real magic was unfolding before my eyes. I fed Riggs and Daddy fed Avery and for the first time in history, Riggs was beating Avery in the "see how fast I can drink my baumbie" race. Well, for at least the first 5 oz anyway.

We drink a little, we burp a little, we start to cry when we realize there's too much time between drinking, burping and drinking again . . . I am trying to understand the rules here but all things in good time, n'est pas? Both babies finished a-l-m-o-s-t all of their respective bottles. Dry pamper applied, Riggs wrapped in his 'miracle blanket' was sleeping before being placed in his crib (see, I don't understand how he can go to sleep while I put on his little straight jacket [miracle blanket]!) Avery must have descended from Houdini . . . miracle blanket phooey! Daddy swaddled her in a Dearie wrap and placed the sleepy baby girl in her crib.

As I checked in on them before leaving, Riggs was resting peacefully while Avery had managed to escape the constraints of the swaddle and was having a fine time talking to the angels who were surely hovering just around her (else I can't figure out who she is talking to with such emphasis!) . . . happy with the position of everything in the universe . . . at last, if only for a while, but nowhere close to sleepy!

I blew each one a kiss and with a prayer for yet one more sleep-straight-through-the-night for both babies, I left. Their yesterday was complete . . . mine was filled with a little more!